Plant Biotechnology Research Centre
Staff
- Prof. dr. Hoo Sun Chung
- Prof. dr. ir. Stephen Depuydt
- Dr. Eun Kyung Yoon
- Dr. Jihae Park
- Dr. Charlotte De Bruyn
- Dr. Christine Jewel Uy
- Dr. Suleman Abid
- JiWon Choi
- Lalitha Kaliraj
- Hoa Thi Le
- Heewon Kang
Research
In addition, our center contributes to (research-based) teaching in several life science courses at GUGC, and prepares BA/MA/PhD students for careers in the field of modern plant biology, both in academia and industry.
Education
General Biology (BA1): this is a basic course in biology with emphasis on the universal features of life, i.e. the general concepts in biological sciences. The course gives an introduction on the general (cell) biological processes in life forms, next to dealing with major concepts in energy generation (heterotrophs and autotrophs) as well as genetics and genetic information. The course also creates an overview of the different life forms and places this in the context of evolution.
Plant Biology (BA2): this is a basic course in plant biology with emphasis on biodiversity and evolution. The course gives an introduction on the anatomy, morphology and taxonomy of plants in the light of evolution and how adaptation strategies have been explored in relation to conquering land. Typical features of the major taxa are discussed, as well as underlying relationships in anatomy and morphology and potential applications for agriculture and biotechnology.
Molecular Biology (BA3 - BSc in Molecular Biotechnology): this course aims at confronting the student with the fundamental principles of molecular biology in prokaryotes and eukaryotes and zooms in on the structure-function relationship of DNA and chromosomes with regard to replication, transcription, translation and gene regulation. Relevant terminology is introduced and general concepts and principles are presented. An important aim is to bring insight into gene structure, recombination, gene expression and gene regulation, including the differences between pro- and eukaryotes.
Plant Physiology (BA3 - BSc in Molecular Biotechnology): this course unveils some of the most enthralling mysteries of plant life and shows the uniqueness of plants as a life form. The topics that are dealt with demonstrate how plants work and function, and highlight cellular and biochemical processes needed to complete a plant’s life cycle, in function of an ever changing environment. The course focuses mainly on higher plants and tackles physiological processes from a holistic perspective, i.e. focusing on the interrelationship between all organs of the plant. Next to that, the relationship between the plant (function) and the abiotic environment are deepened out.
Opportunities
GUGC students internship program: The Plant Biotechnology Research Center provides intensive research training to GUGC BSc students during summer/winter vacation every year (Jun-Aug and Jan-Feb). Various types of training cover a broad spectrum of wet-lab practices in plant science including genetics, molecular biology, protoplast-based transient assays, genome editing, and plant-based environmental toxicity monitoring etc.
Ph.D. program: We recruit Ph.D. candidates (master’s degree required) with creativity and enthusiasm. If you are interested in understanding how plants think (i.e., plant molecular signaling) please contact Prof. Chung (hoosun.chung@ghent .ac.kr) for the opportunity. Successful candidates will receive a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (WE09), Ghent University, Belgium.